From Riverdale to Guwahati: Bill Golliher brings decades of Archie magic to Comic Con
Few artists have helped build worlds as enduringly as Bill Golliher. For over thirty years, the Archie Comics writer and artist has shaped the lives, looks and laughter of beloved characters like Betty, Veronica, Jughead and Sabrina with a signature style rooted in heart, humour and classic comic charm. Now, as he arrives at Comic Con India at Guwahati, Bill brings with him not just decades of storytelling, but a slice of pop-culture history.
Experience the magic of Archies at Comic Con Guwahati
You’ve worked with Archie Comics for decades. What initially drew you to the world of Riverdale and what keeps it exciting for you today?
I grew up reading the comics and they inspired my art style. Even when I was drawing my own stuff, my eyes would look kind of like the Archie eyes and that kind of thing. I just enjoyed the format of comic books. I was always doing cartoons for school paper and college. When I went to art school in New Jersey, which is near New York, I met the Archie editor and that’s how I began working for Archie. My style always lent itself to it, so it seemed like a good fit. What keeps it exciting is that it’s something I’ve done so long and enjoyed. It’s fun to continue to do it and hear people’s stories of how they enjoy it. If I hear someone laugh at something I drew or wrote, it’s a great feeling.
From Betty and Veronica to Sabrina the Teenage Witch, each title has its own tone. How does your creative process shift when moving between these different worlds?
I have to put myself in the mindset of watching the story and letting it play out. With Betty and Veronica, I play off their personalities because Veronica is going to take it over the top and have her snobbish personality, so it plays itself out. With Jughead, he’s going to do something wacky, and I can work that into a story. Sometimes I’ll take it a step further and then reel it back in. With Sabrina, I’ve always appreciated the imagination and magical feel to Sabrina, so that makes it a lot of fun too. I can take inspiration from things like “what if there was an easier way?” If you had magic, couldn’t you do this an easier way? Then I write that up as a story. I immerse myself in those different worlds to come up with the angle.
Archie comics often incorporate contemporary culture. How do you decide which trends or references will resonate without overshadowing the timelessness of the stories?
It was a lot easier to write a story before cell phones. A lot of Archie stories would have some misunderstanding or lack of communication, and before phones it was easier to get away with that. Now you have to have somebody forget their phone or the battery is dead if you’re working miscommunication into a story. On the other hand, it makes it more interesting because you have more things to work with, like everybody having a phone or videos online. You can work all that in, but it makes the simplicity more complicated because you have to think of different ways to approach situations when technology could prevent the story from working.
You have done everything from scripting to cover design. Which aspect challenges you the most and which feels most natural?
Scripting feels more natural to me because once I come up with the story idea, I can put myself into it and hear it playing out. I’m recording a stream of consciousness interaction between the characters and maybe the settings change. Then I go back in and reformat that into the story for five or ten pages. I enjoy drawing too, but to me it’s harder work and takes more time. Cover design is fun and can be challenging because after 80-plus years of Archie covers, trying to think of a creative cover that’s different from previous ones can get complicated. They’re all a fun challenge and I enjoy them.
Archie and Sabrina have taken very different tones in their TV adaptations. How did you feel seeing these characters you’ve grown for years reimagined in such bold new ways?
They’re not really a direction I’m crazy about. I know the world changes and people have different ideas and interests, and they’re trying to approach a different market with those properties. My heart is still back to the old original version of Archie and Sabrina. Keeping them contemporary but keeping the charm is my thing. I’m glad there’s a market for the darker representations and people are enjoying it, but it’s not my cup of tea. I prefer the original stuff.
Were there any moments or character interpretations in these shows that surprised you or made you see your creations from a different perspective?
With Riverdale, seeing the way they portrayed some of the characters was a step too far for me. I’ve been doing it so long and I’m old school at heart. It’s interesting to see how they might rework a character or give them different traits, but it isn’t something I really appreciate in my own interpretation.
Looking back at your career, is there a particular story or artwork you feel was a turning point in defining your signature style?
Yes. The first story that I drew for Archie. I had written a story where all the Archie characters were on a Ferris wheel and it gets stuck, and they communicate back and forth from their positions. The editor bought the story but said nobody would want to draw it, so he told me to draw it. That was my big chance to draw my first story. After that, I was writing and drawing. I think it was an Archie and Friends comic from around 1990, maybe a five or six-page story. I might still have the artwork for that because it was such a memory. The first story I wrote that was published was a Sabrina story because I always enjoyed Sabrina, and that might also have been in Archie and Friends.
How does it feel to go to Comic-Con and how excited are you?
I am very excited. I’ve been busy getting things together and I’m heading out later today. I’ve been to New Delhi and Kolkata before and enjoyed meeting the fans and hearing everyone’s stories and hanging out with them. I’m looking forward to new great memories and Guwahati as well.